Information on public speaking is available online
Minutes:
Councillor Ian Barlow, on behalf of Sidmouth Town Council, welcomed the council’s approach to consulting and listening. He acknowledged the council’s difficulty in meeting the Government’s expectations for housing allocations and hoped that the proposed allocations for the towns had been done practically rather than each town having to take a share. He advised that Sidmouth Town Council objected to all the suggested sites as they fell within the AONB and said that under national policy development should only be considered if it cannot be developed elsewhere. Strong objection was expressed for Sidm_06 at Sidford as not only was it within the AONB but was protected under Policy 3 of the Sid Valley Neighbourhood Plan and he urged Members to look again for potential new sites. On a personal point of view Councillor Barlow welcomed the new administration and hoped they would listen and act for the good of the people and make the right decisions and not just the easy ones.
Councillor Roger Giles, on behalf of Ottery St Mary Town Council, offered his condolences for the loss of Councillor Val Ranger. He said she was a lovely exceptional councillor and will be missed very much. On behalf of Ottery St Mary Town Council he expressed concern for the level of housing and sites proposed and reminded Members that Ottery St Mary had already seen 25% more development than any other town in the current Local Plan and that the town was less sustainable than others. He referred to Exmouth advising that it was ten times the size of Ottery St Mary and had only been allocated a growth of less than 2%. He strongly opposed the inclusion of Otry_09 (GH/ED/28) which the Planning Committee had previously refused stating that the reason for refusal was that the proposed development was located in the countryside, outside of the built up area boundary with no planning policy support for residential development in this location.
Andy Roberts, on behalf of the North East Exmouth Residents Group, spoke about Lymp_10 and Lymp_15 expressing concern that the sites were unsustainable as they were a long way from almost all facilities and he did not understand how any footpath could be provided from the site down Hulham Road. He advised that the North East Exmouth Residents Group acknowledged the issues Members faced regarding constraints and restrictions but could not understand about the lack of strategic thinking and focus that would help reduce building more houses in Exmouth. He urged Members to focus on providing additional homes through development at the proposed new town near Hill Barton with a much higher target number of dwellings in the plan period. He also urged Members to look harder at brownfield sites and encouraging landowners in Exmouth town centre to develop affordable houses that were sustainable.
Margaret Leppard, on behalf of the Seaton Flood Working Group, asked that in light of recent extensive flooding in Seaton and adolescent sustainable drainage technology in new builds would the Strategic Planning Committee apply the precautionary principle and consider innovative ways of liberating and using existing housing stock. She advised the geology of Seaton was unchanged since 2010 and that South West Water advised that the soil in Seaton impedes drainage, raising concerns that the current planning guidance only uses basic calculations for water attenuation over a development site and therefore urged Members to be extremely cautious about further housing development in Seaton.
Michael Searle, a resident of Seaton referred to Seat_03 and Seat_05 – East and west of Harepath Road Seaton and sought clarification about why it was being considered to build in the Green Wedge space that has been protected by the Local Plan, when planning permission had been refused four times in the past. He raised the following concerns
· Lack of infrastructure in the town as well as the already stretched schools, doctors and dentists.
· Flooding in Harepath Road, Seaton Wetlands and Buttercup Close and sought clarification about flood prevention.
· The dangerous Colyford to Seaton road and asked whether Members had considered whether exits onto this winding and narrow road was acceptable.
· There were multiple brownfield sites in Seaton that had been allowed to stand empty for years.
· Seaton Wetlands are important for tourism, people and wildlife including the flight path of the Bechstien’s bats.
The Chair thanked the public speakers and acknowledged all their concerns raised advising these would seriously be taken into consideration.
Councillor Geoff Jung, Ward Member for Woodbury & Lympstone advised that residents living close to the ‘Lympstone and Exmouth gap’ had concerns especially for Hulham Road which was a green gateway into Exmouth. The Lympstone and Exmouth gap must be preserved at all cost.
Councillor Marianne Rixson, Ward Member for Sidmouth and Sidmouth Town Councillor advised that Sidmouth had no sites suitable for development and felt that sites that were in the pipeline or likely to happen should take precedence over any pink level sites.
Councillor Phil Twiss, Ward Member for Honiton acknowledged that Honiton needed to take its share on houses and favoured a designation for key worker accommodation.
Councillor Dan Ledger, Ward Member for Seaton who was a neighbouring resident to Seat_02 spoke about this site not being deliverable from evidence through the HELAA process and highlighted three key issues as to why it was not, drainage, deliverability and access. He also raised a concern that this was the main flight path for the protected bats from the Beer Quarry Caves which had been discussed at the last meeting.
Councillor Fred Caygill, Ward Member for Exmouth sought clarification about sewage pipes and whether the council could take South West Water or the developers to task if new pipes being fitted into old pipes were not fit for purpose. In response the Service Lead – Planning Strategy and Development Management advised that serious conversations were needed with South West Water and other infrastructure providers but before these conversations can happen we first need to understand where to accommodate growth. In terms of planning applications South West Water will be consulted and any concerns will be addressed.